By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Kazakhstan, the country where the Soviet atomic bomb was first tested exactly 70 years ago, has become the 26th State party by depositing with the United Nations Secretariat the ratification instrument to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) thus marking one step closer to the […]
Grave Concern About US-Russian Actions Evoking Cold War
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – While nuclear experts and peace advocates have expressed heightened concern about the collapse of the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the United States and Russia are trading accusations over breaching commitments and taking actions evoking Cold War era. The Treaty was signed by former U.S. President […]
UN Outreaches Youth with Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence
By Belen Bianco, UNODA NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) launched its youth outreach initiative on August 16. The first activity organized under this initiative brought together young people from across the New York area to UN Headquarters to join an expert-led discussion on the implications of artificial intelligence […]
Journalists Get to Know the Rich Culture of Kazakhstan
By Yukie Asagiri NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (IDN) – Journalists from Asia and Europe who joined a weeklong cultural press tour of the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan in August broadly concurred that “this country has something to offer even to the well-travelled tourist”. The week-long press tour was purported to showcase the rich culture and history […]
Nuclear Arms Race Is Here
By Jessica Corbett * MAINE, USA (IDN) – Nuclear experts and disarmament advocates are warning that the world is witnessing a new arms race after the Pentagon tested a new missile August 18 that would have violated a Cold War-era treaty the Trump administration ditched earlier this month. After years of the U.S. government—under both […]
Chinese Mining Company in Kyrgyzstan Suspected of Playing Havoc with Ecology
By Bagymdat Atabaeva SOLTON SARY, Kyrgyzstan (IDN) – On August 5 about 300 villagers from Solton Sary area, about 200 km from capital Bishkek, gathered at the Chinese owned Zhong Ji mining company’s office here to protest against gold mining works, which they claimed were killing their cattle. Thus, another mining scandal has erupted in […]
Russia and China Are Coming Closer Again
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – In her famous decree in 1767 Empress Catherine the Great proclaimed Russia to be a European power. She wanted Russia to be a major player in European politics. She compelled the Europeans to accept Russia as a great power as a condition for doing business. In 1815 […]
The ‘Roof of the World’ Festival Keeps Tajikistan’s Traditional Culture Alive
By Alisher Kukanbekov KHOROG, Tajikistan (IDN) – In this mountainous Gorno Badakhshan region with around a third of the population estimated to be unemployed, the exodus of the people for greener pastures abroad has gathered momentum in the past decade. To protect the colourful traditional culture from disappearing along with its population, the ‘Roof Top […]
The Devastating Arms Race Rages Unabated
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” – U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower in ‘The Chance for Peace’ address in April 1953. NEW YORK (IDN) […]
Blue Water Navy Plays an Important Role in Russian Diplomacy
By Mark Thomas-Patterson* WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – July 28 marked Russia’s Naval Day, one of the series of military holidays celebrated in the country. The highlight of this year’s festivities was the first national fleet review in seven years, with President Vladimir Putin present at the main parade in St. Petersburg while Prime Minister Dmytry […]